Deleted
by Tribble1701
Summary: An alien entity travels far and wide to wreak havoc on technology. It's next victim? Voyager. New chapter :)
1. Chapter 1

Deleted.

by Tribble1701

=/\=  
His senses alerted him to an anomaly, moving steadily through the Delta Quadrant. It seemed to be a massive computer-based piece of technology. Hungry for more information, he allowed the tendrils of his consciousness to reach deeper, further into the computer's database. He searched the millions of files this machine seemed to hold, finally withdrawing with a faint feeling of satisfaction. He had found the file he needed. The Starship Voyager, crew complement of around 140, stranded thousands of light years away from home. 'This should provide provide some amusement', he thought as he willed himself to travel towards the starship, methods of ravaging its computer already running through his head.

=/\=  
"We're ready to establish visual communications with the Alpha Quadrant at your command, Captain."

"Alright, Harry," replied Captain Kathryn Janeway, as she walked across the bridge and settled in her chair. "Open a channel."

The image on the viewscreen flickered for just a moment, then cleared to the long-awaited sight of Admiral Paris and Lieutenant Barclay in the Pathfinder office.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the review! Here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

=/\=  
'How do I begin' he thought, as he neared Voyager. Rummaging through various programs, files, and subroutines, the entity found the perfect approach. 'Perfect' he decided as he changed a particular file.

'Just to let them know I'm here.'

=/\=  
The doors to the Captains's Ready Room slid open with a quiet hiss. Tom Paris, from his seat at the helm turned in surprise.

"I thought the Captain had already left for the day?" he directed the question at Commander Chakotay, who currently occupied the center seat on the bridge.

"I thought so, too. No one has come out of the doors, either. I'll go check." He responded, getting up and crossing the bridge.

He reached the doors peered inside, and found no one. He questioned the computer "Computer, is there anybody in the Captains's ready room?"

"Negative" replied the computer in its feminine monotone.

"Tuvok, check the door control files" he ordered, turning towards Tuvok's console, then walking back to his chair to check if any computer updates or repairs were being made in Engineering.

"Commander, the door control protocols for the Captain's Ready Room are no longer stored in our computer. According to the logs, they never existed."

=/\=  
"Report!" Captain Janeway called out as she strode purposefully onto the bridge.

"Captain, the doors to your ready room have been constantly opening and closing without any motion trigger" her first officer dutifully supplied.

"Seems like a simple problem with the door control protocols. Have you checked?"

"I wouldn't have called you down here if there wasn't a more serious problem. According to the computer, those files never existed."

The Captain wasted no time. Already on her way towards the turbo-lift, she replied "I'm going to pay a visit to Engineering. Maybe we can solve the problem from there. Contact me if there are any more reports of these...missing files."


	3. Chapter 3

Here's chapter 3! Enjoy :)

The sound of the door chime interrupted the Captains's concentration, and she looked up.

"Come in" she called, expecting either Tuvok or B'Elanna with a report on the source of their problem.

Instead, Commander Chakotay walked across the Ready Room to her desk, and handed her a PADD. "B'Elanna hasn't found either the cause or the solution to this morning's problem, but she's still working on it. On the other hand, there have been no reports of further problems."

"Tell her that she can pull any additional personnel she needs. These small problems invariably lead to bigger ones, and I'd like the problem fixed before it gets worse" she responded as she walked to her replicator. "Coffee, Black" she ordered.

"Unable to comply" the computer blandly informed her.

"Why not?" the Captain asked sharply.

"That item is not listed in the database."

She turned to Chakotay. "Looks like our problem is escalating after all."

=/\=  
The harsh noise of the red alert klaxons dispersed the occupants of Voyager to their respective positions, and pulled Captain Janeway toward the bridge at a fast clip.

"Report!" she barked as she crossed the bridge to stand in front of her chair.

"Captain, the helm control programs have gone offline. I can't control where we're going!" reported Tom Paris as he tapped out sequences on his console in an attempt to regain control.

"Heading?" she asked.

"We have deviated from our original course and are now on a heading toward the Gamma Quadrant. If we continue on this heading, we will pass through Borg territory again in 10 years, and will have added another 25 to our journey." The dire news was delivered by Commander Tuvok in his toneless Vulcan voice, infuriatingly calm.

Captain Janeway hit her Comm. Badge. "Janeway to Engineering. Lieutenant, shut down the Warp Core, now."

The somewhat frazzled voice of her half-Klingon chief of Engineering flowed back over the Comm. system. "We're trying, Captain, but we have our hands full trying to rewrite all the helm control protocols."

"Keep trying. Make the core shutdown your priority. Janeway out." The captain signed off, then briskly walked over to one of the consoles at the back of the Bridge, with Commander Chakotay following closely behind.

"I have a hunch that this may not be a simple computer problem" she commented while pulling up information on the console.

She finally found the information she was looking for. "Computer, run an analysis on this information. Look for any encryptions, patterns, or signs of tampering."

"You think this may be a sentient life-form at work?" Chakotay questioned.

"If it was a virus, it wouldn't have been able to move from door protocols to replicator files to primary systems. They aren't closely related."

"Could it be some sort of parasite? Or a saboteur on board?"

Chakotay's second comment made Janeway's stomach churn. It was possible, but she refused to believe it was true. They had grown so close to each other, they had made a family. She couldn't think of anyone who would do such a thing. 'Then again, no one suspected Seska, either' she thought. The computer's bleep signaling the completion of the analysis shook her out of her paranoid thoughts. She skimmed the information on the screen, then took a small step to the side to show her first officer.

"Chakotay, look at this" she said, redirecting his interest from the Engineering status reports, "It definitely looks like we're dealing with a sentient life-form here."

"What is this?" he enquired, pointing to a chain of foreign characters at the bottom of the screen.

"I don't know, let me try running the translation algorithms on it, and see if it means anything. Maybe this life-form is trying to make contact" she replied, already busy attempting to translate. "Got it!" she quietly exclaimed after a few minutes. She turned to let Chakotay see.

"It says...Ekari"

=/\=


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Thank you for all the reviews! Sorry for not posting sooner, but here it is! It's short, but I'll try to upload again soon. Please read and review!

-Tribble

=/\=

'I can use this technology' he decided, searching for commands to power the ship. 'This is the best opportunity that has presented itself in months. It's perfect. No, it's better than perfect.' he reasoned, still searching for the files. 'There is the problem of the crew' he mused, still working at pulling out a file from underneath a tangle of security programs, 'I doubt they will cooperate, yet I hesitate to use more force. Perhaps I will take a page out of this...Captain Janeway's book.' Decision made and file retrieved, he set to work on his plan.

'Engage' he chuckled to himself at the sound of possibility powering up.

=/\=

Kathryn Janeway awoke with a start at the sound of her ship powering up and jumping to warp.

"Bridge, report," she called as she tapped her Comm. Badge to open the line.

"Captain, the helm is powering up. I'm attempting to shut it down" replied Tom Paris from the helm.

"Keep working on it, Tom," she advised "Janeway out." She pulled on her jacket and boots, then walked down the corridor, her strides unconsciously matching the rhythm of the throbbing red alert sirens. She reached her destination quickly, but before she was able to call out a purposeful 'Report!' the stars streaking by slowed, then halted. Every bridge crew-member's eyes were transfixed to the marvel on the view screen. It was large and powerful, yet sleek and graceful all at once, like a lion, oozing majesty. This was not the somewhat haphazard jumble of technology that comprised the Borg ships, this, this had finesse. Every sleek edge seemed to glint, every curve flowed at the perfect angle, and yet- there was something- a shadow, darting between the light and the dark, slithering like a venomous snake from the undergrowth. A voice broke the magnetism of the sight in front of them, with one simple word.

'Help'

=/\=


End file.
